Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Last year, GAO reported that the demilitarization liability for excess ammunition was not reflected in the Department of Defense's (DOD) financial statements although required by federal financial accounting standards. The Army, as the single manager for conventional ammunition, calculated a liability of $1.2 billion and prepared a voucher recognizing this amount. Although consistent with GAO's recommendation that DOD include the total liability for demilitarizing excess ammunition in its annual financial statements, this amount does not reflect the full extent of future costs. Specifically, the Army does not recognize a liability for costs associated with the demilitarization of (1) excess ammunition overseas or (2) excess Army-owned war reserve ammunition, excess retail ammunition, and excess ammunition not stored at an Army installation. GAO found that the total liability that should be reflected in fiscal year 2002 financial statements could amount to $3 billion, or $1.8 billion more than the Army's calculation. The Army needs to submit an additional voucher and include in its and DOD's fiscal year 2002 consolidated balance sheets the future liability associated with the demilitarization of excess Army ammunition at overseas and military storage locations."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Improper payments are a long-standing, widespread, and significant problem in the federal government. The Congress enacted the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) to address this issue. Fiscal year 2005 marked the second year that agencies were required to report improper payment information under IPIA. One result of IPIA has been increased visibility over improper payments by requiring executive branch agencies to identify programs and activities susceptible to significant improper payments, estimate the amount of their improper payments, and report on the amounts of improper payments and their actions to reduce them in their annual performance and accountability reports (PAR). Because of continued interest in addressing the governmentwide improper payments issue, GAO was asked to report on the progress made by agencies in complying with requirements of IPIA and the status of efforts to identify, reduce, and eliminate improper payments. As part of the review, GAO looked at (1) the extent to which agencies have performed risk assessments, (2) the annual amount of improper payments estimated, and (3) the amount of improper payments recouped through recovery audits."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American National Theatre and Academy for fiscal years 2004 and 2003. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the National Fund for Medical Education for fiscal year 2004. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--two joint federal-state health care programs for low-income families and children--play a critical role in addressing the health care needs of children. In 2008, more than 36 million children in the United States received health care coverage through Medicaid or CHIP. Like all children, children covered by Medicaid and CHIP may have health care conditions that could warrant care from primary care or specialist providers. At the same time, a significant number of children in Medicaid and CHIP may not be receiving basic preventive care, which these programs generally cover. For example, we reported in 2009 that, on the basis of parents' reports in national surveys, about 40 percent of children in Medicaid and CHIP had not had a well-child checkup over a 2-year period. Many state Medicaid and CHIP programs and other health care purchasers have started initiatives to improve care coordination for children and provide children with access to networks of care. For the purposes of this report, care coordination is broadly defined as a process in which an individual or group helps to arrange a patient's primary and …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of Little League Baseball, Inc., for fiscal years 2005 and 2004. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditor's opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."

A statement of record issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In recent years, some reports prepared by advocacy groups have raised issues concerning the adequacy of the Park Service's financial resources needed to effectively operate the park units. This statement addresses (1) funding trends for park service operations and visitor fees for fiscal years 2001-2005; (2) specific funding trends for 12 selected high-visitation park units and how, if at all, the funding trends have affected operations; and (3) recent management initiatives the Park Service has undertaken to address fiscal performance and accountability of park units. This statement is based on GAO's March 2006 report, National Park Service: Major Operations Funding Trends and How Selected Park Units Responded to Those Trends for Fiscal Years 2001 through 2005, GAO-06-431 (Washington, D.C.: March 31, 2006)."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American GI Forum of the United States for fiscal year 2005. GAO found that the American GI Forum of the United States did not obtain an audit of its financial statements for fiscal year 2005 by an independent public accountant, and therefore did not comply with the statutory requirement for such an audit. Instead, corporation officials informed us that they had the statements reviewed. Further, they informed us they plan to obtain a financial audit of the corporation's financial statements in the future."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "This letter addresses the conference report to H.R. 5441 and Senate Report 109-273, which directs GAO to (1) analyze the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Operations Center and DHS component operations centers and (2) make recommendations regarding the operation and coordination of these centers. On March 1 and 13, 2007, we met with House and Senate Committee staff, respectively, to brief them on completed and ongoing GAO work that addresses these issues. Both House and Senate staff agreed that this information addresses the appropriations mandates and their related concerns regarding DHS's operations centers. We primarily relied on a prior GAO report on DHS multi-agency operations centers to satisfy these mandates. In our completed review, we specifically examined (1) the missions, products, functions, and customers of the multi-agency DHS operations centers that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year (24/7/365), and (2) DHS's implementation of key practices for enhancing and sustaining collaboration at these multi-agency centers. We also have work underway that includes an assessment of DHS's plans for consolidating its real property holdings in the National Capital …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The matching of airline passenger information against terrorist watchlist records (watchlist matching) is a frontline defense against acts of terrorism that target the nation's civil aviation system. In general, passengers identified as matches to the No-Fly list are prohibited from boarding commercial flights, while those matched to the Selectee list are required to undergo additional screening. Historically, airline passenger prescreening against watchlist records has been performed by commercial air carriers. As required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has developed an advanced passenger prescreening program--known as Secure Flight--to assume from air carriers the function of matching passenger information against terrorist watchlist records. Since fiscal year 2004, TSA has received $358 million in appropriated funds for the development and implementation of Secure Flight, according to program officials. Also, since fiscal year 2004, GAO has been mandated to assess the development and implementation of the Secure Flight program. We have reported on numerous challenges the program has faced, including those related to protecting passenger privacy, completing performance testing, fully defining and testing security requirements, and establishing …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Inc., for fiscal years 2005 and 2004. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that, with two exceptions, the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Brownfields are properties whose re-use may be hindered by the threat of contamination. Cleaning up and redeveloping these properties can protect human health and the environment, and provide economic benefits. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to state and local governments and others for site assessments, job training, revolving loans, cleanups, and for assisting state efforts. This testimony is based on GAO's report, Brownfield Redevelopment: Stakeholders Report That EPA's Program Helps to Redevelop Sites, but Additional Measures Could Complement Agency Efforts (GAO- 05-94, December 2, 2004). GAO (1) obtained stakeholders' views on EPA's contribution to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment, (2) determined the extent to which EPA measures program accomplishments, and (3) obtained views on options to improve or complement EPA's program. Stakeholders GAO surveyed included grant recipients, state program officials, interest groups, real estate developers, and others."

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The state and local government sector continues to face near-term and long-term fiscal challenges that grow over time. The fiscal challenges confronting the state and local sector add to the nation’s overall fiscal challenges. The fiscal situation of the state and local government sector has improved in the past year as the sector’s tax receipts have slowly increased in conjunction with the economic recovery. Nonetheless, total tax receipts have only recently returned to the prerecession levels of 2007 and the sector still faces a gap between revenue and spending. The sector faces long-term fiscal challenges that grow over time. The fiscal position of the sector will steadily decline through 2060 absent any policy changes."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American Historical Association for fiscal years 2004, 2003, 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In September and October 2001, letters laced with Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores were sent through the mail to two U.S. senators and to members of the media. These letters led to the first U.S. cases of anthrax disease related to bioterrorism. In all, 22 individuals, in four states and Washington, D.C., contracted anthrax disease; 5 died. These cases prompted the Subcommittee to ask GAO to describe and assess federal agencies' activities to detect anthrax in postal facilities, assess the results of agencies' testing, and assess whether agencies' detection activities were validated."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has undertaken various planning efforts to realign its real property portfolio, including the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES), creation of a 5-year capital plan, and its newest effort, the Strategic Capital Investment Planning process (SCIP). Through these efforts, VA has identified numerous real property priorities it believes should be completed if the agency's facilities are to meet veterans' needs for services now and in the future. In January 2011, GAO reported on the extent to which VA's capital planning efforts (1) have resulted in changes to its real property portfolio and (2) follow leading practices and provide information for informed decision making. This statement summarizes the results of this report. To perform the work for the report, GAO reviewed leading capital planning practices and data on VA's real property portfolio and future priorities. GAO also interviewed VA officials and veterans service organizations and visited sites in 5 of VA's 21 veterans integrated service networks."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated $6.8 billion to serve 919,000 poor children through 1,680 Head Start grantees nationwide. Recent reports of financial improprieties at a number of Head Start programs around the country raised questions about the effectiveness of the oversight provided by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in identifying and resolving financial management weaknesses in Head Start grantees. This testimony discusses (1) the processes ACF uses to assess the programs' risks, (2) whether those processes could be improved to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information ACF collects on its Head Start grantees, and (3) whether ACF ensures that grantees with financial management weaknesses correct those problems in a timely manner."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses (1) the relationship between Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits of taxpayers and other programs IRS uses to ensure that taxpayers' returns are accurate and (2) how IRS is managing the increased workload in two of its programs--offers-in-compromise and innocent spouse claims. IRS audited more than 600,000 taxpayers in fiscal year 2000, either face-to-face or through the mail. IRS has several programs that use computerized screening procedures to review all tax returns to detect certain types of errors. These programs result in millions of contacts with taxpayers to inform them of adjustments IRS made to their liabilities, seek explanations for errors IRS believes were made, or ask taxpayers to check whether they erred on their returns. The programs vary in their similarity to audits; some of the programs are most similar to audits that IRS conducts through the mail. The programs that IRS uses to detect errors on tax returns rely completely on information that taxpayers report on the tax returns and that IRS receives from third parties. Therefore, audits remain an important tax enforcement tool. Several factors suggest that IRS may be gaining better management …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of the Interior's actions in response to previous GAO recommendations to improve the management of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative, focusing on what: (1) the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force has done to identify and acquire lands needed to accomplish the goals of the restoration initiative; and (2) Interior did to help ensure that it maximized the acreage purchased with $200 million set aside in the 1996 Farm Bill for the initiative."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This testimony discusses GAO's analysis of security audits at federal agencies. The widespread interconnectivity of computers poses significant risks to federal computer systems and the operations and the infrastructures they support. GAO's evaluations show that federal computer systems are riddled with weaknesses that continue to put critical operations and assets at risk. GAO found weaknesses in following six areas: (1) security program management, (2) access controls, (3) software development and change controls, (4) segregation of duties, (5) operating systems controls, and (6) service continuity. Weaknesses in these areas place a broad range of critical operations and assets at risk for fraud, misuse, and disruption. Federal agencies have tried to address these problems, and many have good remedial efforts underway. However, these efforts will not be fully effective and lasting unless they are supported by a strong agencywide security management framework. Establishing such a management framework requires that agencies take a comprehensive approach that involves both (1) senior agency program managers who understand which aspects of their missions are the most critical and sensitive and (2) technical experts who know the agencies' systems and can suggest appropriate technical security …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the status of key 2000 census-taking operations, focusing on: (1) the mail response rate and the implications it has for timely and accurate completion of the Bureau of the Census' nonresponse follow-up workload; (2) update/leave procedure, which is used to count people in certain small towns and rural areas; (3) Service-Based Enumeration, used to count persons with no usual residence; and (4) Questionnaire Assistance Centers, which are designed to help people, especially those with limited English skills, complete their census forms."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) management of the capital asset realignment process, focusing on: (1) VHA's progress to date; (2) any concerns regarding VHA's realignment process as designed; and (3) the potential effects of VHA's actions on the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) capital budgeting process."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the issue of Medicaid expenditures for school-based health services and administrative costs, focusing on the: (1) magnitude of states' claims for school-based health services and administrative activities; (2) appropriateness of the methods used to determine how much Medicaid pays for these services; (3) extent to which school districts directly benefit from federal Medicaid reimbursements; and (4) the adequacy of the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) oversight of school-based claims."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In fiscal year 2004, the Congress appropriated $6.8 billion to serve 919,000 poor children through 1,680 Head Start grantees nationwide. Recent reports of financial improprieties at a number of Head Start programs around the country raised questions about the effectiveness of the oversight provided by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in identifying and resolving financial management weaknesses in Head Start grantees. This testimony discusses (1) the processes ACF uses to assess the programs' risks, (2) whether those processes could be improved to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information ACF collects on its Head Start grantees, and (3) whether ACF ensures that grantees with financial management weaknesses correct those problems in a timely manner."